Harvard English Major Criminally Charged Over Alleged Trail of Lies & Plagiarism

A 23-year-old senior majoring in English at Harvard University is facing 20 criminal charges over an alleged trail of lies and plagiarism.

Among other claimed misconduct, Adam Wheeler is accused of creating a fraudulent life history to get into Harvard; lying to obtain $45,000 in grants, scholarships and financial aid; falsifying job and college applications; and winning two writing prizes with plagiarized submissions, reports the Boston Globe.

He is to be arraigned tomorrow in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on one count of pretending to hold a degree and multiple counts of larceny over $250, identity fraud and falsifying an endorsement or approval, the newspaper says.

A Harvard prof’s recognition that Wheeler allegedly had plagiarized material led to further investigation that uncovered additional lies and falsifications, according to District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr.

Wheeler attended Bowdoin College in Maine from 2005 to 2007, where he was suspended for academic dishonesty, reports the Associated Press. He allegedly has been trying to transfer to Yale University, with the help of faked credentials, after his problems at Harvard.